Guests: John Batchelor, Dr. Caleb Scharf, Dr. David Livingston: Topics: Lake Vostok, water ice, Lake Whillans, Antarctica, extremophiles. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We do not permit the commercial use of any Space Show program or part thereof, nor do we permit Space Show programs to be edited, placed on YouTube, or other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted in news articles, papers, academic & research work but must be cited or referenced in the proper citation format. Contact Dr. Livingston for questions about our copyright and trademark policies which we do enforce. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. During our 11 minute plus discussion with Dr. Caleb Scharf, we talked about the Russian Lake Vostok drilling project for water ice, the American team drilling at Lake Whillans looking for signs of life, and overall the search for extremophiles here on Earth, then extrapolating to planets and moons in our solar system. This is a most interesting and informative discussion.

Please post any comments/questions you might have on The Space Show blog. You can contact any of us through drspace@thespaceshow.com.

Guest: Doug Messier. Topics: Spaceport America and Virgin Galactic informed consent, liability, & contract issues per www.parabolicarc.com & much more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Doug Messier back to the program to discuss his reporting on Spaceport America and Virgin informed consent issues and possible contract issues. We also talked to him about his management of Parabolic Arc, his possible expansion of the blog and even accepting guest contributors. Check out his reporting and stories at www.parabolicarc.com. Our first subject was on Spaceport America and Virgin starting with Doug’s most recent post about possible Virgin rent payment disputes followed by the informed consent issues which may now have been resolved through negotiations with Virgin, the NM legislature, and NM trial attorneys. We took listener calls and emails and as it turned out, the spaceport and Virgin story was controversial with listeners all over the board on these issues ranging from Charles who believes the spaceport and the industry are way ahead of their time to others who believe success will definitely prevail for the spaceport, Virgin and the industry. Another issue discussed in the first segment was the hybrid rocket engine, possible Virgin problems with it, and related items. Doug shared his information with us on the subject and provided us with a brief history & overview on the hybrid engine. We talked about powered test flights and the difficulty in doing these ventures given they always seem to be about two years away from operations.

In the second segment, Doug told us about activities at the Mojave Air and Space Port including the construction for Stratolaunch. Somehow we ended up again discussing hybrid engines and informed consent. Doug was asked about Virgin and XCOR differences and he spoke as much as he could about the Lynx but said he was under NDA with XCOR as he is working on an XCOR book. He seemed to favor the XCOR approach. We talked about his future plans for Parabolic Arc. He is thinking of broadening it to other areas and accepting guest contributions. I asked him about his visits to see the ATK five segment SRB tests and his thoughts on solids, ATK, etc. He had much to say about it and SLS. He continued talking about Mojave, I asked him if he had ever seen the Orbital L1011 and he told us about his tour of it and hearing Bill Weaver speak about his SR-71 breakup and survival. A listener asked him about Interorbital out of Mojave, we talked about Dream Chaser, and more.

If you have comments/questions for Doug, post them on The Space Show blog. You can email him through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.

Guest: Dr. Albert Carnesale. Topics: The NRC study, “NASA’s Strategic Direction And The Need For A National Consensus.” Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Dr. Albert Carnesale, Chair of the Committee on NASA’s Strategic Direction to discuss the National Research Council Report, their analysis of NASA, their findings, and their recommendations. You can download the pdf form of the study report at www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18248. We started our 1 hour 34 minute discussion with Dr. Carnesale introducing us to the National Academies and the NRC, then this specific study. We talked about its origins, its source of funding, its methodology, objectivity, and how it addresses issues within NASA, Congress, and the Executive Branch of the government. Dr. Carnesale talked about the study Statement of Task. We learned that it was equally important as to what they were to do as to what they were not to do. For example, the were not tasked to opine on what NASA should be, rather they looked at NASA’s current status and evaluated and reported on what they found. Also, the study was a fast track study completed over seven months. This is in contrast to an NRC-NASA Human Spaceflight Study spanning two years. You can get information on the HSF study at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DEPS/ASEB/DEPS_069080. Dr. Carnesale went over their findings and you will hear constant references back to the NASA 2011 Strategic Plan. There were three main findings including the vision statement for the 2011 NASA Strategic Plan did not articulate “a national vision that is unique to the nation’s space and aeronautics agency,” that the mission statement in the 2011 Strategic Plan does not “articulate a mission unique to the nation’s space and aeronautics agency” and finally, that both the NASA vision and mission statements are so plain vanilla that they could apply to almost any part of the government. These findings can be found on page 31 of the study. Dr. Carnesale then discussed some of the specific findings and recommendations for the NASA program areas including human spaceflight, robotics, science missions, and technology. NASA funding was discussed along with Congressional control and the congressional role in making space policy. Our guest received questions about the value of space advocacy, its place in the study, and public feedback/commentary. One of the points made by our guest was that overall, most people they talked with seemed to think the ultimate HSF goal was Mars and that the Moon would be of value as a stepping stone in going to Mars. However, there was no strategy for this, nor was there a strategy or policy or even funding for an asteroid visit or program. We also discussed the gap which exists between the public’s liking the space program and the level of interest in congressional funding for NASA and its programs. Listeners asked about pork spending projects and related inefficient characteristics of the congressional & NASA administrative practices.
In our second segment, the subject of sequestration came up and our guest said most thought it would impact NASA on the margins. Dr. Carnesale got a question about getting NASA to focus on RLVs but something that specific was outside the scope of their study parameters. Lots of comparisons were made with the Defense Department in terms of efficiency changes, including applying DOD like BRAC reductions to helping make the NASA centers more efficient, perhaps even to consolidate them. Another listener wanted to know about the study suggesting NASA take on more frontline research such as in the earlier NACA. Here, our guest talked about JPL which has a somewhat different structure than other NASA centers & suggested it was one of the management and organizational models that could be considered in streamlining NASA for the future. Later in the segment, I asked what the methodology was for implementing the study findings. He talked about the need for strategy, goals, and objectives with consensus in NASA. Support and direction from both the Administration and Congress was essential. Don’t miss his outline for implementation of the study findings and conclusions. Throughout our discussion, we talked about the leadership role of NASA and the value of the contributions NASA has made to the nation and the world, looking forward to how best to see NASA continue in this light. We also talked about partnerships with other government agencies, the private sector, and international players, especially for something as expensive as a Mars mission. Toward the end of our discussion, Dr. Carnesale took a listener question about the need for better NASA communication to take the space story to the public. He said the weakness was not in the communications, the weakness was in the lack of the NASA vision. He cited outstanding communication from JPL and NASA regarding MSL and Curiosity. Our last caller was from Dave Huntsman, a 38 year NASA veteran. Dave raised some excellent points regarding what NASA could do on its own without Congress and the Administration. He talked about programs put in place since the Challenger accident, all with mixed results. The three of us took time to acknowledge remembering the Challenger accident on this day in history, January 28, 1986.

Please post your comments/questions about this program and the NRC Study on The Space Show blog URL above.

Guest: Dr. Erik Seedhouse. Topics: Dr. Seedhouse talked about his new book, “Pulling G: Human Responses to High and Low Gravity.” Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Dr. Erik Seedhouse back to discuss his latest book, “Pulling G: Human Responses to High and Low Gravity. I strongly recommend this book as it is a terrific resource on the subject of G-force on the human body. If you buy it using this URL from Amazon, Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show: http://www.amazon.com/Pulling-Responses-Gravity-Springer-Popular/dp/1461430291/ref=onegiantlea20. Our 1 hour 42 minute discussion was in two segments but as our topics overlapped segments, there will be no part one and part two for today’s program summary. Dr. Seedhouse began the discussion talking about the different types and sources of gravity on the human body. This included acceleration, lateral, reentry, vibrational, and more. We talked about helmet restraint issues, Formula One race cars and taking corners at high speed producing a high lateral G force, jet fighters, rocket flight, roller coasters, and more. Erik went over the proposed flight profile in g terms for Virgin Galactic and other proposed vehicles. He also talked about centrifuge research and findings with the general public at the NASTAR facility. He then switched to g-load force, fighter pilots and the Anti-G straining maneuver and breathing that they do to help counter excessive g’s. Suborbital flight came up and here, Dr. Seedhouse had much to say given the small amount of suborbital human spaceflight history. We also talked about bone loss and density issues, osteoporosis, and obesity. Erik said the best physical profile for resisting high g force was short and stocky. The worst was tall and thin. Don’t miss his explanation for this. He also said smokers do better in high g’s over nonsmokers. Erik got lots of question about the Bill Weaver SR-71 ejection. Then he mentioned the Armstrong Line and said above that point, blood boils without a pressure suit. Erik also talked about orthostatic intolerance (OI) in the context of g tolerance. He talked about professional astronaut training for suborbital missions such as with Astronauts4Hire. We then discussed the financial problems hitting the Canadian aerospace industry with layoffs, closures, and the possible sale of valuable space hardware. Listeners wanted to know about anti g countermeasures, if any, and laser eye surgery was discussed although Erik said it was no longer a problem.

Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. You can email Dr. Seedhouse through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com

Guests: Dr. Duane Graveline, Heather Archuletta. Topics: Bed rest microgravity simulation studies. Dr. Graveline is the father of this research. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Dr. Duane Graveline to the program to discuss bed rest simulation microgravity studies, the early days of pioneering of his having pioneered this research, aerospace medicine and much more in our 1 hour 23 minute discussion. Dr. Graveline is the father of this research dating back to the late 1950s. Please visit his website, www.spacedoc.com. Heather Archuletta, the Pillownaut Astronaut, returned to co-host with me for this important discussion. Check out Heather’s blog posts about Dr. Graveline and his work at http://pillownaut.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-bed-pilot-pioneer.html. Dr. Graveline has allowed us to use two specific pictures referring to his pioneering work and both are on The Space Show blog per the above URL. Picture 1 is Dr. Graveline’s water immersion tank and Picture 2 is the LBNP device. He discusses both of these in the program’s first segment. Dr. Graveline started out with an overview of his early work, how he got into the field, his decision to join the Air Force and why this area of medicine interested him. He explained his early bed rest tests and talked about the challenges with the test subjects. Heather and Dr. Graveline compared those early tests to those of today that Heather has participated in. It was a fascinating compare and contrast, especially regarding the discipline of test subjects then and now. Dr. Graveline talked about water immersion, the aerospace lab he used, and his water immersion tank. Don’t forget to check out the picture of it on the blog. Dr. Graveline is looking through the window at the floating test subject. Would you like to float as Dr. Graveline explained for one full week nonstop? Throughout our discussion, Dr. Graveline told us many interesting and sometimes funny stories from his past like his visit to the Today Show and their wanting him to wear “flippers!” Our guest described the low body negative pressure device (LBNP) which you can see in the second photo on the blog. He talked about it, the old Soviet program, Mir and tilt table tests. Dr. Graveline talked extensively about the Soviet program, how he was able to monitor much of their data, & he told us about Alexi Leonov when he had serious problems when caught outside his spaceship. Many questions were asked about early animal studies, Laika, and more. He told us how they were able to do blood pressure readings on dogs & the Soviets bragged about it since Dr. Graveline was able to figure out, copy, & improve the Soviet system. Mice and centrifuge studies were discussed in some detail & Heather and Dr. Graveline had comprehensive discussions about exercise in the bed rest studies of today as compared to none in the early days of the studies. Dr. Graveline talked with Heather about his idea to abandon exercise in space so the astronauts could concentrate on their work, then return in a hydropod and rehab completely back on Earth for a few months. You don’t want to miss this discussion or explanation from Dr. Graveline as to why this approach should be considered and tested by NASA.

In the second segment, we talked about bone density issues and the applicability of space research and findings to terrestrial medical issues for people with this medical problem. He was asked about a long duration HSF to Mars and he said the bigger problem was galactic radiation which he talked about in some detail. He said that as of today, there are no mitigation tools for this problem. The discussion went back and forth about water immersion and the use of the hydropod for returning astronauts & Heather talked about prohibitive costs & that immersion is not used today. One of our UK listeners asked Dr. Graveline about his being part of Group 4 – The Scientists. As this was the first astronaut group that was not composed of test pilots, our listener wanted to know about the selection process & getting more scientists to the Moon & on missions. Dr. Graveline had much to say about this subject & shared with us some terrific & historical stories from the past. He talked about Spacelab, astronaut Bill Pogue, & shared science stories with us. During our program, Heather, with her bed rest study experience & her recruiting work (listen to her Space Show program on the studies she has recent completed at http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/1926-BWB-2013-01-08.mp3 from Jan. 8, 2013), contributed greatly to the discussion and Dr. Graveline was equally interested in talking with her about the program today as compared to the program he started decades ago. Dr. Graveline’s book, “From Laika With Love: Secret Soviet Gifts to Apollo,” is still available. If you order it from Amazon using this link, Amazon will make a contribution to The Space Show/OGLF: http://www.amazon.com/From-Laika-With-Duane-Graveline/dp/1424338700/ref=onegiantlea20. Dr. Graveline was also asked about the use of his research today and if young scientists & researchers interested in the field still study his early work. He said yes and talked about how much easier it was to do that today due to the internet.

If you have questions/ comments for Dr. Duane Graveline or Heather Archuletta, post them on The Space Show blog per the URL above. If you want to email Dr. Graveline or Heather, you can do so through me. You can also comment and contact Heather through her blog which is mentioned earlier in this summary.

Guests: John Batchelor, Wayne White, Dr. David Livingston: Topics: Space law, space property rights, asteroid mining. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We do not permit the commercial use of any Space Show program or part thereof, nor do we permit Space Show programs to be edited, placed on YouTube, or other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted in news articles, papers, academic & research work but must be cited or referenced in the proper citation format. Contact Dr. Livingston for questions about our copyright and trademark policies which we do enforce. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. During our 11 minute plus discussion, Wayne White and I talked with John Batchelor about space property rights and the absence of them, asteroid mining, the Outer Space Treaty, space law, and viewing the coming commercial space activity with asteroid mining as being similar to the 49er days of early California. John asked lots of questions comparing this period to what he sees as the coming future for asteroid mining. Wayne talked about mining law, legal claims through the diplomatic process and more.

Please post any comments/questions you might have on The Space Show blog. You can contact any of us through drspace@thespaceshow.com.

Guest: John Strickland. Topics: Cislunar transportation and economics, SSP, and more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed John Strickland to the show to discuss cislunar space development, economics, transportation, SSP, and much more. You can read his latest The Space Review article, “Cislunar transportation: the space trucking system” at http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2221/1. We have also placed on The Space Show blog several images John referred to during our 96 minute discussion. We started the first segment by discussing what is needed in terms of supporting space infrastructure to establish a Cis-lunar space economy. In addition, we talked about heavy lift launch vehicles in general, expendable rockets, the need for RLVs and more. John said there were three basic vehicle needs, a crew vehicle, cargo vehicles, and tankers. At one point he said he would like to see a Dragon model as a tanker. This discussion then went to orbital fuel depots and our guest had much to say on the depot topic. Here, he brought up the idea of a lunar ferry and robotic missions using the RLV. A listener asked him for the biggest challenge to the ideas he was sharing with us and he said money!

In the second segment, Doug called in and talked about John’s Space Review article per the above URL. Doug had several questions and challenges for John. Another listener emailed in questions relating to John’s trucking system comparisons. Later, Tim called to ask about electric propulsion and this took us to the Falcon Heavy topic, the need for RLVs, etc. Also, John referred quite a bit to Image #2 on The Space Show Blog, the LMO Waystation. We then addressed Space Solar Power (SSP).Guest: John Strickland. Topics: Cislunar transportation and economics, SSP, and more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed John Strickland to the show to discuss cislunar space development, economics, transportation, SSP, and much more. You can read his latest The Space Review article, “Cislunar transportation: the space trucking system” at http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2221/1. We have also placed on The Space Show blog several images John referred to during our 96 minute discussion. We started the first segment by discussing what is needed in terms of supporting space infrastructure to establish a Cis-lunar space economy. In addition, we talked about heavy lift launch vehicles in general, expendable rockets, the need for RLVs and more. John said there were three basic vehicle needs, a crew vehicle, cargo vehicles, and tankers. At one point he said he would like to see a Dragon model as a tanker. This discussion then went to orbital fuel depots and our guest had much to say on the depot topic. Here, he brought up the idea of a lunar ferry and robotic missions using the RLV. A listener asked him for the biggest challenge to the ideas he was sharing with us and he said money! In the second segment, Doug called in and talked about John’s Space Review article per the above URL. Doug had several questions and challenges for John. Another listener emailed in questions relating to John’s trucking system comparisons. Later, Tim called to ask about electric propulsion and this took us to the Falcon Heavy topic, the need for RLVs, etc. Also, John referred quite a bit to Image #2 on The Space Show Blog, the LMO Waystation. We then addressed Space Solar Power (SSP). He said it would take from $50 billion to $200 billion for a 1GW base load, Ground based Solar or wind system. He then discussed what would have to change about how we do space to see SSP become a reality. Tim also wanted to know about bypassing the Moon and going directly to a NEO. John had much to say about using the incremental approach which included the Cis-lunar economic development we have talked about on this program and on other programs. John’s closing comments with the Teddy Roosevelt statement were important one so don’t miss it. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog per above. You can email John Strickland for his materials and with your questions at jkstrickl@sbcglobal.net He then discussed what would have to change about how we do space to see SSP become a reality. Tim also wanted to know about bypassing the Moon and going directly to a NEO. John had much to say about using the incremental approach which included the Cis-lunar economic development we have talked about on this program and on other programs. John’s closing comments with the Teddy Roosevelt statement were important one so don’t miss it.

Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog per above. You can email John Strickland for his materials and with your questions at jkstrickl@sbcglobal.net.

Below are the images pertaining to the discussion with John. Note that the “1 page with 2 ferry images” link below opens a document with two color diagrams which will also be part of tonight’s discussion.

Guest: Jim Muncy. Topics: Comprehensive space policy & commercial space discussion. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed Jim Muncy back to the show for this comprehensive space policy and commercial space two hour plus discussion. While many topics overlapped both segments and we went back and forth on several topics, this summary will be a two part summary. Jim started the discussion with a look at new space legislation kicking off the year. After a short summary of several items and their impact on commercial space, we talked about the makeup of the new Congress and how it might view civil and commercial space. Jim then started addressing specific projects including Orion and its expansion to include ESA, SLS, the Boeing CST100, Atlas 5, and more. A listener asked about the Space Settlement Act and the Space Foundation Pioneering White Paper. We then turned our attention to Cis-lunar space as a commercial gateway and Jim mentioned new commercial opportunities such as Golden Spike. We also talked about the recent study on NASA by the National Academies. Other topics included the need to do exploration, to take risks and NASA acting more like the old NACA with aviation. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was brought up by a caller and we started talking about large program expenses as compared to smaller, less costly, & more frequent programs that fly much more often. In response to another listener, Jim said SLS was not in competition for funds with commercial crew as one was near term & the other long term. Falcon Heavy was brought up, especially as an alternative to SLS.

In our second segment, Jim was asked about how best to influence congress. Later on, Jim was asked to comment on the liability indemnification issue surrounding Spaceport America & Virgin Galactic. Our domestic economic situation came up many times in both segments but in this segment, it was applied to problems with our weather satellite system & infrastructure needs as opposed to flying missions. This included mention of the Hurricane Sandy relief package just passed by Congress. Other issues talked about included the aerospace skilled workforce, parochial congressional interests, the NASA bureaucracy, & the role of space advocacy.

Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog above. You can email Mr. Muncy through me at drspace@thespaceshow.com.

Guest: Dr. Edmund Storms. Topics: Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR) updates, cold fusion theory and more. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. We welcomed back Dr. Edmund Storms to update us on progress being made in the field of cold fusion (Low Energy Nuclear Reactions or LENR). Websites of interest relating to this discussion are www.lenr.org, http://research.missouri.edu/iccf18/index for the upcoming University of Missouri ICC18 LENR conference, and www.ecatworld.com. Dr. Storms started out with a brief summary of the cold fusion research history through current times, including the latest on the Andreas Ross E-Cat device. He had much to say about Rossi’s E-Cat, explaining why he thought Rossi had a “tiger by the tail!” We discussed LENR work around the world as many scientists, engineers, and nations are working to make LENR replicable and to fully understand the theory by which cold fusion works. Evidently, there is still not a good understanding of the process. Dr. Storms talked about the need for a proof and said much more information was needed to make sense of it all. Dr. Storms also mentioned that the U.S. Patent office typically does not grant patents in this area though there have been a few exceptions over the years.

In the second segment, Ricardo called and mentioned that today the European Patent Office had granted Francesco Paintelli a patent on his LENR process. You can read about this patent at www.e-catworld.com/2013/01/european-patent-granted-for-francesco-piantellis-lenr-process. Pooley sent in a note about gamma rays & neturons and said that did not apply to LENR but understood the difficulty traditional science had in understanding this fact. Dr. Storms discussed the patent and this process, then talked about the upcoming University of Missouri ICC18 LENR Conference in July 2013 (see the above URL). During this segment, we talked about the criticism levied at LENR research by other scientists, institutions, and sometimes governments. We talked about funding issues, the challenges for LENR to get traditional funding through grants from government and academia, and the fact that most LENR funding comes in from private sources. Dr. Storms provided us with some comparisons to the LENR research process, one being the perfection of the transistor. It’s a fascinating story you will want to hear. Near the end of the program, Dr. Storms talked about his plans to change his research focus depending on the success of LENR research in 2013. He connected the dots with the U.S. and global economic problems to R&D investment from all sources and explained to us how that was influencing his own future research plans.

Please post your comments/questions for Dr. Storms on The Space Show blog above. You can email Dr. Storms through me.

Guests: John Batchelor, Gerald Nordley, Dr. David Livingston: Topics: Kepler Space Telescope & extrasolar planets. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We do not permit the commercial use of any Space Show program or part thereof, nor do we permit Space Show programs to be edited, placed on YouTube, or other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted in news articles, papers, academic & research work but must be cited or referenced in the proper citation format. Contact Dr. Livingston for questions about our copyright and trademark policies which we do enforce. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. During our 11 minute plus discussion, Gerald Nordley and I talked about Kepler Space Telescope extrasolar planet discoveries, the habitable zone, Earthlike planets, the Kepler naming and identification system and more. For additional information, visit Gerald’s website at http://www.gdnordley.com.

Please post any comments/questions you might have on The Space Show blog. You can contact us through drspace@thespaceshow.com.